


Safe With You

by A Small World (Datawolf39)



Series: Little Zuko [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Acceptance, Age Regression/De-Aging, CG!Aang, CG!Katara, Fluff, Literal Sleeping Together, Little!Zuko, Love, Nightmares, Zuko gets to be happy, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:14:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26434000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Datawolf39/pseuds/A%20Small%20World
Summary: Zuko is tired, and Aang and Katara are in his bed.
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Little Zuko [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921459
Comments: 11
Kudos: 162





	Safe With You

**Author's Note:**

> Had a plan for this  
> Plan didn't work out  
> New idea came  
> New idea written  
> Huzzah

As expected, Katara was right and Zuko started avoiding her like she was infected with the plague. The others seemed to be a bit concerned by it at first, but she shrugged it off like it didn’t matter, and since she didn’t seem to be bothered by it, they wrote it off as Zuko being Zuko, and seemed happy enough to simply tease him about it occasionally.

The only times that Zuko couldn’t get away from Katara, not for lack of trying on his part, was during their healing sessions for the scar on his chest. It hurt a lot more than he would admit to anyone, and Katara seemed well aware of his pain regardless of how good he was at hiding it, and would never let him skip a session.The sessions were always conducted in silence, and Zuko pretended to sleep while she healed him. Both of them knew he was faking, but neither of them saw fit to comment on it. 

Had he had his way, he would have buried that night so deeply it would never resurface, he would slowly regain his hard won friendship with Katara, and he would do all his Fire Lord duties, until he dropped dead from exhaustion or assassination.

He should have known better. It could never be that easy, not for him. The universe seemed to react when he wanted something that was not in his own best interest, it was like someone was writing his story for him, and making sure that he didn’t miss things that would improve his life at the cost of his pride.

The day had been awful. There had been three long meetings, hardheaded generals, and a lack of sleep over the previous week. Zuko felt two seconds from collapse from the moment that he had gotten up that morning, and had been happy when it was finally a decent hour to retire to bed.

He got to his room, and blinked sluggishly as he took in his bed. Katara, and Aang were in his bed, fast asleep. Aang was curled up on one side, and Katara on the other. They clearly had been waiting for him, and they looked as exhausted as he felt, so he didn’t begrudge them their sleep nor did he want to wake them. He was tired too, though, and he didn’t have the energy to make his way to a guest room. The floor was an option, but the bed looked even more comfortable because the two of them were in it.

Too tired to second guess himself, he stripped down to the shorts he wore below his robes, and he crawled into the bed. He thought it might be hard to fall asleep, but it seemed like he blinked one time, and then his eyelids were just too heavy to lift.

“-uko, wake up.”

Zuko snapped awake, blinking quickly as the room was suddenly filled with light. Aang, and Katara were looking at him, faces showing clear concern. He was still so sleepy, and the nightmare had been scary, and… and…

Zuko’s breath hitched, and he threw himself at Katara. “Sor-sorry,” he cried, and he was. He was sorry for being mean to her, and being a mess, and being like this, and waking them up, and everything else.

Aang got off the bed, but Zuko didn’t turn to look.

Katara was humming soothingly, and running her hands through his hair. He drifted for a moment until she stopped. He whined, already missing the touch.

“Shhhh,” she soothed, “look who came to make you feel better.”

Zuko turned his head, and blinked to clear the tears from his eyes. Aang was smiling at him, and holding Tutu out for him to take.

He reached a hand out for her, and Aang put the turtleduck into it. Once the plush had been handed over, he climbed back into the bed, and pressed himself to Zuko’s back.

Zuko knew he should question Aang’s lack of reaction, but he couldn’t because he felt safe. Nothing could get him here, with the Avatar, at his back, and a super strong waterbender holding him close.

“Are you okay?” Katara asked once he stopped crying.

Normally he would lie, but like this, with them, he couldn’t. 

“No,” he whispered.

“Do you want to tell us what you dreamed?” Aang asked. “It might make you feel better.”

“Was bad,” he admitted. “Was real bad.”

“Can you tell us a bit more?” Katara asked gently.

“Don’t wanna,” he said, shaking his head. They would hate him if he told them what he had dreamed.

“Zuko, can you look at me, buddy?”

Zuko slowly turned over so he could look at Aang. Somehow he seemed older, and his eyes were full of things that Zuko couldn’t understand. “You’re feeling really young right now, aren’t you?”

Zuko blushed, but he nodded. He wished he could be normal, but this was not something he seemed to be able to control.

“I’m sure your dream was really scary, especially because you feel so small, but remember, you are safe here. We won’t let anything hurt you, and we will not be mad at you no matter what you dreamed.”

Zuko teared up again. His lip trembled, but he pushed through it all, and spoke. “Was hunting you, an got you, an world was on fire,” he said quickly. The tears flooded down his face once more, and he choked on his sobs as the images flooded his mind.

“Well your dream was right in one way,” Aang said once Zuko was a bit calmer.

Zuko looked at him. “How?” he asked in a small voice.

“You certainly caught me. I would go anywhere with you, all you have to do is ask.”

“You would?”

Aang nodded. “You’re my friend.”

Zuko blushed.

Aang’s smile widened. “You like hearing that, Little Lord Fireling?”

Zuko giggled, he couldn’t help it.

“Aww, you’re so cute,” Katara cooed.

“Not cute,” Zuko quickly denied with the least threatening glare she had ever seen.

“No?” she asked as she tickled him. 

He tried not to laugh, but her light touches were too much, and the best he could do was wiggle away from her. 

Katara pursued him, with a huge smile on her face, and Zuko did the only thing he could think of, he hid behind Aang.

Aang made a show of fending off Katara, and Zuko feeling rather brave, stuck his tongue out at her.

A shriek emerged from his throat as a small tendril of water tickled him. “Not fair,” he complained, only to burst into giggles when she added another tendril.

“I’ll protect you,” Aang declared heroically, and suddenly Zuko found himself hovering over the bed. For a moment he was afraid, but he knew Aang wouldn’t let him be hurt, and he giggled as he was swooped through the air.

A few swoops later, and Zuko yawned. Immediately, he was brought back down to the bed, landing in the space left for him between Aang, and Katara. They laid there quietly, all of them coming down from the silliness that the situation had devolved into.

“What if I have another bad dream?” Zuko asked.

“We’ll be right here ready to let you know it was just a bad dream,” Katara assured him.

“Promise?”

“Promise,” they answered together.

Zuko smiled, and hugged Tutu closer to his body. “Nigh,” he said with another yawn.

“Good night,” they both said back, but Zuko was already fast asleep.

Outside the door, the two guards looked at each other. They had peeked inside when they had heard the commotion just to be sure that everything was okay, and they retreated quickly before their Lord could notice them. Lady Katara had seen them, and fixed them with a look that told them to guard this secret with their lives or those lives would suddenly come to an end. Both of them had nodded at her, and returned to their posts. 

Ryu hadn’t needed the warning though, because he already intended to take the sight to the grave with him. Under Fire Lord Zuko, the nation was becoming a place he had only known through old stories from his grandfather, and he had to protect that so the children of the future would know in practice what he had known through old tales. Furthermore, his Lord deserved to be happy, even if he himself didn’t seem to think so, and seeing him carefree enough to forget the world, was a sight that he would forever treasure. 

“Did you see anything, Niko?”

Niko blinked in a confused fashion. “What do you mean?” he asked.

Ryu smiled, knowing that his fellow guard shared his way of thinking. “Nothing, nothing at all.”

**Author's Note:**

> Still want more of this?


End file.
